Maori Point Pinot Noir is a full bodied expression of the hero red grape of Central Otago and named after a bend on the Mata-Au (also known as the Clutha River) where Māori prospectors panned for gold in the 1860s.

The wine brand is owned by two families who grow the grapes and employ experienced winemakers in the region to produce their wines. The philosophy of the owners is to produce high quality wines made from hand picked grapes from vineyard sites with low yields, using wild yeast fermentations, minimal sulphur additions and using sustainable practices as much as possible. This is their quest and the wines are elegant renditions of Otago's edgy climate with its hot summer days and cool seasons on both sides of ripening. 

Tasting Note:

 A pure and exact expression from these venerable vines in their 32nd season. Grown on free-draining alluvial soils, the fruit from this block yields a wine with characteristic delicacy and precision. Beguiling notes of elderflower, mint and kiwifruit waft over a palate that is perfectly poised; the balance of sugar and acid is so harmonious as to integrate both components into the wine in their entirety. Fresh, filigree, and weightless. 

Introduction:

 Commencing with meticulous site selection and vineyard design in 1991, Felton Road's story is one of refusal to compromise. A strict 100% estate policy with fully organic and biodynamic viticulture (BioGro and Demeter certified) ensures that our fruit arrives at the winery as pure as it can be, while our entire estate comes as close to true sustainability as is possible. A commitment to hands off winemaking: gravity flow; indigenous yeasts and malolactic; an avoidance of fining and filtration; all help preserve the wine's expression of its terroir. The result is Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir which accurately express the authenticity and complexity of our unique vineyards. Gareth King; Viticulturist, Blair Walter; Winemaker, Nigel Greening; Proprietor. 

Vineyard & Viticulture:

 Felton Road farms four properties totaling 34 ha in the Bannockburn subregion of Central Otago. Blocks 2 and 4 are located on gravel fans within the Elms Vineyard with deep soils of angular schist gravels. Meticulous summer management of a single vertical shoot positioned (VSP) canopy ensures even and early fruit maturity. Shoot thinning, shoot positioning, leaf plucking, bunch thinning and harvest are all carried out by hand to ensure optimum quality fruit. Cover crops are planted between rows to assist in vine balance and to improve soil health and general biodiversity.

Vintage:

 Abundant rain in September and October replenished soil-water reserves. After a later than average budbreak, the vines grew well until a katabatic frost, the most extensive in twenty years, struck the vineyards on 3 November. Fortunately, losses were localised within vineyards and occurred early enough in the season for many vines to recover. A benign, settled period coincided with flowering and a successful fruit set did much to compensate for the damage from the frost. Summer saw even temperatures and a protracted dry period, which served to slow down ripening and concentrate flavours. After February finished with a warm flourish, the weather cooled distinctly, especially at night. Harvest was a game of patience, particularly for Riesling. The slow and measured conclusion of ripening has endowed the wines with an impressive breadth to complement their characteristic vibrancy. 

Vinification: 

Riesling from Block 4 of The Elms vineyard was carefully hand-picked, whole bunch pressed, settled for 5-7 days before racking, then fermented with indigenous yeasts. The 2 week fermentation was stopped by chilling when the optimal balance was achieved between the acidity, alcohol and residual sugar (56g/L). Careful winemaking with minimal processing highlights the crisp natural acidity and the Riesling characters are delicately poised in the low alcohol of 9.5%.

Established in 1864 by Jean Désiré Féraud, Monte Christo is the birthplace of Central Otago wine. Our wines are made with 100% estate-grown fruit sourced from our vineyards across three distinct sub-regions, the Alexandra Basin, Bannockburn and Pisa. Utilising sustainable farming practices and minimal intervention methods in the winery, the outcome is elegant, refined, and impeccably balanced wines epitomising the terroir of Central Otago.

Tasting note Dry, medium-bodied and luscious, with pronounced notes of fresh yellow apple and pear, white peach, melon and honeysuckle.

VINEYARDS

Vineyard: Davishon (69%)

Subregion: Alexandra Basin 

Elevation: 160m 

Clone(s): 6, Mystery clone 

Soil: Blackmans alluvial sand, silt and gravels derived from schist and sandstone 

WINEMAKING

Brix: 22.3

Fermentation: 80% stainless steel and 20% neutral French oak

Aging: Four months in stainless steel Cases

An alluring bouquet of wild strawberries and cream with a touch of spice, followed by delicate cranberry, ruby grapefruit and and a hint of shortbread.  Vibrant, focused and beautifully balanced. 

Vineyard This wine is from our BioGro certified organic and Demeter certified biodynamic estate vineyard located in the Bendigo sub-region of Central Otago. The vineyard was planted in 1998 after careful site selection and is the pioneer vineyard in Bendigo New Zealand. The soils on the beautiful north facing slope are Waenga fine sandy loam and Molyneux shallow sandy loam soils. The Pinot Noir clones 10/5 and 5 have been used for the production of this Methode Traditionnelle sparkling wine. Planted with a vine density of 3,800 vines per hectare on 44.55° south. 

Cuvee 100% Pinot Noir, hand-picked on the 8th March 2022 in ideal condition. Bottle fermented and aged on lees for a minimum of 24 months. Riddled and disgorged by hand at Quartz Reef.

94/100: "Delicious, fresh, crisp and dry with a core bouquet of strawberry and fruit spice, fresh brioche and cherry, there’s a lees and miso moment, apple and floral complexity. Dry, salivating, crisp and dry with a firm mousse, finesse and charm and flavours that reflect the bouquet. A lovely example, well made, lengthy and fine. Great drinking from day of purchase through 2029." Cameron Douglas 2023 

5 Stars: “The distinctive, non-vintage wine (5*) I tasted in mid 2021 was estate-grown and hand-picked at Bendigo, in Central Otago. Made entirely from Pinot Noir, it is pink/red, with strong peach, strawberry and spice flavours, yeasty, dry (2 grams/litre of residual sugar) and lingering. A very harmonious wine, it shows excellent maturity.” By Michael Cooper, NZ Wines (Aug 21) 

“This wine is a time capsule for the last harvest of Riesling off its site and I was happy to capture its electricity in a bottle. There’s something about the way Waitaki tastes in Riesling that is pure magic! Limestone expressing itself in the form of crackling acidity and chalk, you can taste the shape of the soil through the wine, it becomes so physical. This place may be small but she is mighty and every part of the region has Riesling gold to mine and create what I believe is the best Riesling outside of Germany. The name “Amplitude” came to Ian when I was describing how I feel this magnetic pull every time I get close to the Waitaki, followed by this electric current running through me. The feeling is so similar to how the wines taste, it’s crazy. Ian works at the beautiful old Kurow Power Station and so “Amplitude” seemed fitting.” – Sierra Reed

Tasting Note: Jasmine, lime zest, oyster shell, grass, tinned pineapple, and chalkiness create the bones of the wine. Whilst a sharp line of acid brings tension and focus and the residual sugar creates the movement and shape. The interplay between acid, RS and phenolics is key in Riesling and there is a balance that must be achieved to weave them seamlessly so they move together with a oneness. The beauty of this wine is the purity it expressed from juice through to ferment, it’s crystalline.

Winemaking Notes: Foothill Groves Vineyard, growers Ian and Helen Dent. Wild yeast, 30 g/l residual sugar, TA 12.03. 700 litres total production.

Alcohol: 10.4%

Variety: Riesling

Region: Waitaki Valley, North Otago, New Zealand

Rich, inky, dark plum coloured wine with intense aromas of cherry, cranberries and raspberry, complemented by an earthy herbal note. The sumptous palate offers baked rhubarb, damson plums and savoury notes, with a strong backbone of chalky fine drying tannins and focused acidity. It?s nicely integrated, complex, with excellent balance and persistent length - Simply stunning!

A very special Pinot Noir with layers of complexity, a silky texture and delicate concentrated red fruit, earth and spice flavours. This lovely wine is made in miniscule quantities from this country's smallest wine region, the Waitaki Valley, where the Clos Caroline Vineyard is situated. This stunning vineyard site is walled with (and full of) limestone; that mercurial rock that makes for extremely healthy Pinot Noir vines. 

This wine is a must try for Pinot Noir devotees. 

Smooth, supple and savoury Pinot Noir that also ticks the certified organic box. This wine offers awesome value for money and is made entirely from Mount Edward's estate owned vineyards. All grapes in this wine were destemmed, fermented with wild yeasts and the wine was aged in French oak. Bottling was without fining and filtration.
 

Evocative by name and by nature; a wine with great structure thanks to 10% whole bunch fermentation adding depth to the smooth, deliciously savoury flavours. Black Rabbit Vineyard is made from grapevines grown on soils that are 400 million years old on a north facing site that was planted in 2002 at an elevation of 250 to 315 metres above sea level.

The high temperature variation between day and night lends the grapes an elongated window of ripening, which results in savoury notes, a full body and complex flavours of black cherries, a hint of cedar and savoury oak with smooth dark plum aromas and a smooth, long finish. 

The grapes were fermented with wild yeasts and given 21 days on skins and maturation in oak for a year prior to being bottled, unfixed. 

Beautiful complex pink wine with a little barrel fermentation adding depth and body to this wine. It's one of the best pinkies from the deep south and utterly delicious. 

'Deep ruby hue with inviting savoury, fruit and floral aromas including Portobello mushroom, dark Ghana chocolate, cedar, blackberry, *Bing cherry and lilac flower. The palate is also complex with layers of dark fruit, spice, and umami that are woven together by a fresh vein of acidity. The texture is vibrant and delectable with fine, firm tannins that build in the mouth giving a long, memorable finish. Playful with understated power, this quintessential Bendigo Pinot has a tangy freshness that comes from grapes grown at elevation. Intriguing and approachable in its youth, this wine should develop beautifully for 15+ years. (*Bing cherry originated in the Pacific Northwest in Milwaukie, Oregon, the town where I was raised.  This wine evokes many happy memories for me and I wish the same for you). ' 

Jen Parr - September 2023

The four Valli Pinot Noirs

The four sub regions that winemaker Grant Taylor makes Pinot Noir from each year encompass widely varying landscapes, soil types and climates from the maritime influenced weather in the Waitaki Valley Vineyard on the ironically named Grant's Road; a site that Grant Taylor owns, through to the semi continental climates of Gibbston, Bannockburn and Bendigo. 

Bendigo

Valli Bendigo Pinot Noir is made from grapes grown on the Chinaman's Terrace Vineyard in Bendigo, Central Otago. This elevated vineyard was planted in 2005 between 314 metres and 374 metres above sea level with five different Pinot Noir clones; Abel, 115, UCD5, 667 and 777. The soils are shallow sandy loams with a high clay content and also include a small lower section with gravel soils.  Bendigo has a semi continental, arid climate. The vines are cane pruned and grow on a vertical shoot positioning (VSP) trellis.

Bannockburn

Valli Bannockburn Pinot Noir is made with grapes grown on the Hall Vineyard, which was planted in 2000 in Bannockburn at 350 metres above sea level. This area has a semi continental climate. It is planted with six different clones of Pinot Noir; namely, 777, 115, 10/5, UCD5, 113 and 13. The soils here are wind blown loess over schist bedrock. They are deep, moderately sandy and free draining. The vines are cane pruned and grow on a vertical shoot positioning (VSP) trellis.

Gibbston Valley

Valli Gibbston Pinot Noir is made with grapes grown on the Gibbston Highway, which were planted between 1999 and 2000 at between 343 and 351 metres above sea level. The Pinot Noir clones on this site are 777, 115, UCD5 and 114. Soils are alluvial loess which ranges from 0.5 to 1 metre deep over firm river gravels.

Rainfall is lower here than in Bannockburn and Bendigo. The climate is considered semi continental. The vines are cane pruned and grow on a vertical shoot positioning (VSP) trellis.

Waitaki Valley

Valli Waitaki Pinot Noir is made with grapes grown on Grant's Road in the Waitaki Valley, a maritime influenced climate planted between 2004 and 2005 at 200 metres above sea level on limestone based soils. River gravels also make up some of the soil type here and vines are cane pruned and grow on a vertical shoot positioning (VSP) trellis.

Commercial description

Terroir in a glass – very site specific, sophisticated and unique. On the nose, blackberries, spice, violets and wild herb aromatics. Medium bodied with an interesting mix of red fruits and savoury notes. A complex, high energy wine, perfect to enjoy today or to patiently cellar.

Our flagship Pinot Noir, sourced primarily from our southern block. It carries the name of Surveyor – John Turnbull Thomson linking both the land and its fruits to the vineyard owners, PM and David Hall-Jones family heritage.

35% whole bunch and 18% new oak.

Akitu A1 has all the bells and whistles of great Pinot Noir with seductive red floral and fruity aromas leading into a full bodied, silky and structured wine with 40% whole bunch fermentation and five different clones of Pinot Noir adding complexity. The dominant clone in the blend is Abel (a clone is a variation of a grape variety), which lends this Pinot its impressive structure and a silky mouthfeel. It goes without saying that it takes a warm year and ripe grapes to include a high proportion of whole bunches in the fermentation tank, stalks and all. This wine benefits from its high portion of whole bunches and is possibly the best A1 from Akitu yet. A modest 20% new French oak was used to mature the wine. This lends it weight, smoothness and a soft mouthfeel while allowing the fruit to remain in second place after the charry complexity.

The home of Akitu 

Andrew Donaldson planted his vineyard with 100% Pinot Noir in 2002 and has since developed three distinctive styles of wine from this great red grape variety. Two reds (Akitu A 1 and Akitu A2) lead the production while a Pinot Blanc is now part of the high quality stable of wines from this producer. 

Donaldson employs winemaker P J Charteris to make the wines. 

At Mt Barker, in New Zealand's South Island, in a high glacial valley of sunshine and rain shadow on the edge of the earth, each season leave its own vivid imprint on our vintage.  Extreme temperature variations, alpine air, altitude, adversity... all the wild elements of this exhilarating land combine in a Pinot Noir of great quality from the world's southernmost wine region.